(CNN) – There is an enormous media presence in Ferguson, a city of 21,000 people.

Critics have charged that the media are putting themselves in the center of the story.

But police haven't exactly helped that by arresting several journalists.

CNN was right in the thick of it overnight when the tear gas started flying. And we, along with people in living rooms across the nation, watched images which seem so incompatible with life in the modern United States of America unfold in real time.

(CNN) – Residents in Ferguson, Missouri, are cleaning up after Monday night's protests, when they were monitored by heavily armed police looking like they were dressed for combat, with matching vehicles.FULL POST

(CNN) – Elected officials in Ferguson, Missouri, called for a night of quiet Tuesday, asking residents to stay at home this evening after heavily armed police clashed with protesters Monday night.

"Let's have a night to cool off and a night we can completely separate those good people exercising first amendment rights from those trying to co-opt this horrible situation into something to meet their own needs," Ferguson Mayor Andrew Knowles said in an interview with CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper."FULL POST

About This Show

The Lead with Jake Tapper draws not only on Tapper’s deep knowledge of politics and national issues, but also seeks to examine and advance stories across a wide range of topics that demonstrate his own curiosities and interests. Compelling headlines come from around the country and the globe, from politics to money, sports to popular culture, based on news drivers of the day.